Wire-fence machine.



N0 044,00. Patented Feb. 20, |900. H. s. HEATwoLE.

wmE FENCE MACHINE..

(Application 'led Apr. 17, 18799.)

(N0 Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT Fries. A

HENRY S. I-IEATVOLE, OF MOUNT CLINTON, VIRGINIA.

WIRE-FENCE MACHINE.

sPEcIrIcArroN forming part of Letters Patent No. 644,011, dated February 20, 1 90o. Application filed April 17, 1899. Serial No. 713,392. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S. HEATWOLE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mount Clinton, in the county of Rockingham and State of Virginia, have invented'a new and useful Wire-Fence Machine, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in wire-stretchers.

One object of the present invention is to iinprove the construction of wire-stretchers and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient device adapted to be readily connected with` and removed from fence-wires and capable of enabling the same to be readily stretched and drawn together without liability of injuring the hands of the operator.

A further object of the invention is to improve the construction of the wire-engaging clamps and to provide one which will be capable of securely holding a fence-wire while the same is being fastened.

The invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a wire-stretcher constructed in accordance with this invention. l Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail perspective views of the sections or jaws of the clamp.

Like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts in all the gures of the drawings.

l designates a longitudinal ratchet-bar provided at its upper and lower edges with ratchet-teeth and having a hook 2 at one end. The upper teeth of the ratchet-bar are engaged by a pawl or dog 3 of a lever 4, which is bifurcated at its lower end to straddle the ratchet-bar; and the said pawl or dog consists of a substantially U-shaped link provided at the terminals of its sides with eyes 5, receiving laterally-projecting pivot-studs G, arranged on the exterior of the sides of the operating-lever at the bifurcation thereof. The lower teeth of the ratchet-bar are engaged by a tooth 7 of a bar 8, pivoted at its inner end by a pin 9 or other suitable fastening device in the lower portion of the bifurcation of the operating-lever and. provided at its outer end with a hook 10, extending in the opposite dil rection from the hook 2 of the ratchet-bar; The hooks 2 and 10 are swiveled to their ref spective bars and are provided with rounded shanks 11 and 12, extending through perforations 13 and 14 of the ends of the bars 1 and 8, which are provided with openings 14a and 15, located in rear of the perforations 13 and 14. The openings 14a and 15 of the bars 1 and 8 receive the ends of the Shanks of the hooks, which are secured to the said bars 1 and 8 by pins or keys 16 and 17, passing through the Shanks of the hooks and engaging the bars 1 and 8 at the inner ends of the perforations 13 and 14 thereof.

When the operating-lever is oscillated, the dog and the teeth of the bar 8 alternately engage the teeth of the ratchet-bar and advance the lever thereon. Each of the hooks engages an eye or opening 18 of a clamp 19, consisting of' two jaws or sections 20 and 21, provided at their engaging faces with transverse ribs 22 andv23, arranged at intervals, the ribs of one jaw or section being located at the intervals between those of the other section,where by when the clamp engages a fence-wire the latter will be crimped and will be securely held while it is being stretched to the desired tension and while it is being fastened to a fence-post or to another fence-wire. The upper section 2O of each clamp is provided at its ends with centrally-arranged notches 20a, which are adapted to receive the fence-wire, as clearly shown in Fig. 1 of the accompanying drawings. The section 2l is provided at each end with an eye 18, and it has a centrally arranged screw or bolt 24 passing through a perforation of the other section 2O and having its outer end engaged by a nut 25. The screw 24, which is located near the center of the longitudinal axis of the device, is arranged nearer to one of the side faces of the clamp than to the other in order that the fence-wire to be stretched may be disposed centrally of the clamp. The nut, which isv IOO site sides of the perforation 28. By this construction the nut, which is provided with a suit-able handle 29, is rotatively mounted on the section 20 and is retained between the hook-shaped lugs by the screw or bolt; but it may be readily detached by separating the jaws or sections and withdrawing the screw or bolt from the perforation 28.

In order to prevent the sections from rotating on the screw or bolt 24, the section 2l is provided at one end with a pin 30, which extends through the perforation 3l of the section 20. The nut carries the section 2O with it and holds the clamp open after the jaws or sections have been separated to release a fence-wire, and they remain in that position ready to receive another fence-wire.

The invention has the following advantages: The wire-stretcher, which is simple and comparatively inexpensive in construction, is readily handled, and it is capable of engaging two fence-wires and of drawing them together. It is also adapted to hold them sesurely while they are being connected, and there is no liability of the operator injuring his hands on barbed or other wire while stretching the same. The bar 8, which carries the clamp, is provided with the tooth for engaging the ratchetbar,and it willhold said tooth in position for engaging the ratchet-bar. The clamp, which is capable of effectually preventing a fence-wire from slipping, remains open after a wire has been released,and thereby greatly facilitates the stretching of fence-wires, as the device can be quickly applied to the same and released therefrom. The hooks, which connect the clamps to the ratchet-barand the bar 8,are swiveled,so that the ratchet-bar and the operating-lever may be worked at any angle without twisting the fence-wires.

Changes in the form, proportion, size, and the minor details of construction within the scope of the appended claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrilicing any of the advantages of this invention.

What is claimed is l. A device of the class described comprising a ratchet-bar provided at its upper and. lower edges with teeth, an operating-lever mounted on the ratchet-bar and provided with means for engaging the teeth at the upper edge thereof, the longitudinally-disposed bar S pivoted at one end to the lever and provided thereat with a tooth engaging the teeth at the loweredge of the ratchet-bar and retained in such engagement by gravity, and wire-engaging devices located at the opposite ends of the said bars, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. In adevice of the class described, a wireengaging clamp composed of two jaws or sections having inner engaging faces, a screw or bolt mounted on one section and passing through the other, a nut engaging the screw or bolt and having an annular groove, and a pair of hook-shaped lugs engaging said groove and mounted on the adjacent section or jaw, substantially as described.

3. In a device of the class described, a wire! engaging clamp composed of the section 21 provided near its center with a screw or bolt and having a guide-pin, the section 2O provided with perforations receiving the guidepin and the screw or bolt, and a nut engaging the screw or bolt and detachably connected with and rotatively mounted on the section 20, whereby the said sections will be held separated, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENRY S. IIEATWOLE.

Vitnesses:

D. B. YANCEY, C. Il. MANZY. 

